The construction of the Old Mill dam, located next to the Old Mill that houses multiple restaurants and stores, was completed last summer, with the Old Mill Pond set to open this spring with water and a one-mile trail in addition. 

The dam was breached during the historic midlands flood in October 2015, and has been under construction since 2020. 

Peter Gallo, area manager for Contech Engineered Solutions, told the Chronicle that the Old Mill dam will be used as an example for an Association of State Dam Safety conference, adding that the focus will be on the engineering of its redesign and the initial failure of the dam.

“I chose Lexington because this is probably one of my favorite projects that I've ever done,” he said. “I think this is the only dam we've ever done where there is a brewery and retail and stores that are part of the dam. ... The other part I liked a lot, too, is the history. I've never worked on a dam that was this old."

Gallo added that the previous earthen dam was around 107 years old, telling the Chronicle that it's impressive it lasted that long. He said that a lot of earthen dams he sees are around 50 to 60 years old and are facing problems, one of those being that animals build their homes there.

According to Gallo, Contech was responsible for the erosion control for the project, which followed the reconstruction of the earthen dam. Britt Poole, former town administrator for Lexington, previously told the Chronicle that the dam was expected to look almost exactly like it did before.

Laban Chappell, owner of the Old Mill Mall and the dam beside it, previously said that despite it looking the same, it will be very different from the previous dam. He said that the original dam was entirely dug out and rebuilt with heavy, compacted dirt and vertical concrete matting that will be set as reinforcement.

This is where Contech comes into play. According to Gallo, Contech was in charge of developing the solution for the overtopping of the dam to keep it from eroding in the future; this solution was an articulated block system.

This block system has a drainage layer that allows water to flow without it being stuck underneath the concrete and Gallo added that the water wants to move forward and push; this system will allow that.

“You put geotextile down and just put your product down and you have a lot of water coming through that water [that] can get underneath that block and really have no place to go,” Gallo said about how water affects the dam. “The only place it wants to go is forward. It's going to push everything off. Having that drainage layer in there lets that water come through and release all that water pressure from the system.”

The water that flows down the dam will be directed into Twelve Mile Creek which flows out of the pond and sits adjacent to the Old Mill.

Both Gallo and Chappell voiced the same main challenge, that being the weather. Gallo shared there would be times when rain wouldn’t stop for days, leading to contractors having to regrade portions of the dam and ensure that anything that got damaged would be fixed before resuming.

Chappell previously told the Chronicle that about 90% of construction delays were due to weathering, saying that the equipment can’t navigate the slope as well when it is wet.

Outside of the dam construction itself, the town of Lexington will be lowering water levels at Gibson Pond and Barr Lake within the next few weeks so that repairs can be made to the Old Mill Pond spillway.

Once the repairs are made, the Old Mill Pond will be filled with water for the first time since 2015 and reach what town officials call pre-flood conditions.

Work also continues with the roughly one-mile walking trail that will provide connectivity for portions of the downtown area featuring an entrance in the primary parking lot of the Old Mill and a trailhead near AME Bethel Church. 

Randy Edwards, director of transportation for the town, previously said that an additional entrance will be installed near the lower parking lot of the Old Mill - the one across the creek – though, he explained that this entrance will be constructed at a later date and is not a part of the current project.

The trail will cost roughly $3 million and will include lighting and cameras. The funds for the project will come out of the town’s Old Mill Pond Trail fund which comes out of the tax increment financing urban regeneration funds along with the streets and infrastructure fund.

The trail is set to increase pedestrian connectivity near downtown, as it will link the Old Mill and its parking lots, the Reserve at Mill Landing apartment complex, South Lake Drive (near New Bethel AME Church) and likely a new development that’s in the works nearby.

“To have that lake back in place for everyone to enjoy the trail around … I think that's a pretty big amenity for downtown,” Chapell previously told the Chronicle. “That was a big reason to rebuild it.”